Meaghan Elisabeth Carpenter

"Our beloved daughter and friend, Meaghan Carpenter, passed away on Monday, December 9, 2019. She was 27 years of age. Her death is being attributed to symptoms related to her diagnosis of EGPA Vasculitis. She died very quickly and she did not suffer.  We will be having a Celebration of Life gathering in honor of Meaghan. This will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2020, beginning at 3:00 p.m. until about 7:00 p.m. This gathering will be graciously hosted at the Saunders Library at her alma mater high school, Sandia Preparatory School, 532 Osuna Rd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113. RSVP can be mailed to her fathers address, seen below."

Instead of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Meaghan's name to The Vasculitis Foundation. See https://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/. Meaghan would absolutely approve of this. Be sure to include your information, so we can thank you for your gift to celebrate her life. If you prefer to mail, the address for the VF is: Vasculitis Foundation PO Box 28660 Kansas City, MO 64188.

Meaghan is survived by her father, Joseph and her stepmother, Christine; her grandfather, Bill and grandmother, Patricia; her aunt, Kathleen and uncle, Brennan; her uncle, Jonathan and aunt, Jenean; and many cousins, friends, teachers, and associates. She was much beloved by all of her family, friends, and also by her beloved cat, Liho, who has already found a good home that would be approved by Meaghan.

Meaghan was estranged from her birth mother, Tammie, at a very young age, so she lived with the loss of that abandonment for most of her life. Meaghan lived a life of kindness, joy, and never let that early obstacle turn her to a darker path. One very good friend of Meaghan’s related to me how she had a talent to, "...absorb the darkness and still shine light on other people." That was the kind of person Meaghan was.

In recent years, Meaghan spoke about how much it meant to her to have Christine and her family embrace her so warmly into their lives. She was very happy to be gifted with another group of relatives to compliment her father’s family, whom she already loved so well.

Meaghan was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening condition at the age of 15. At that time, the doctors told us that she may only live a few years, but with good treatment, she may live many years. From the date of her diagnosis, she lived 11 years, 8 months, and 22 days. The form of vasculitis that afflicted Meaghan is known as EGPA (Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis). You can learn more about vasculitis at the Vasculitis Foundation website: www.vasculitisfoundation.org.

Vasculitis was a big factor in Meaghan’s very worthy life, but Meaghan was so much more than the sum of her diagnosis. It is important to know that she lived her life fully and well with the time she had on this Earth.

Meaghan was raised by her father, Joseph, with the help of his loving family. Meaghan spent the first half of her life inseparable from her dad. Wherever he went, somewhere for work or for play or if she had an event for school, they would be together. As she approached adulthood, they supported each other through every challenge and every success together. They remained in contact multiple times daily until her death.

Meaghan was an avid reader and though she was quite fond of many quotations she kept one particular quote which expressed her philosophy of life well, "Live a life worth dying for." I believe this quote is from the book, Obsidio, the third in the Illuminae series by two of her favorite authors, Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff.

As Meaghan grew into adulthood, she fulfilled that philosophy as she achieved many things. Despite missing one out of five days of school due to symptoms of vasculitis, she finished high school as a National Merit Scholarship winner. She then went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with honors from the University of New Mexico and most recently to graduate from the University of Illinois with a Master of Information and Library Sciences. Meaghan was working as a legal researcher and was highly commended for both her professionalism and her sharp skills. She was in the process of looking for a new job in a library that would more fully utilize her library science degree.

Meaghan was creative and expressed that creativity in many ways. She crafted items from many different materials, made costumes, and took ideas she loved from stories and brought them to life in her art. She enjoyed role playing games where the players get to act out the story and have adventures together. This form of gaming was one of her passions in recent years and she enjoyed it very much, both as a player and as a “Dungeon Master”, who led others to enjoy stories that she created herself.

Meaghan was well-traveled, having visited more than 30 states, and no less than five foreign countries. Several of those were trips she arranged on her own merits in conjunction with educational awards. One such trip came at the age of 16 when she visited England as a Make-A-Wish recipient. The Hundred Acre Wood, of Winnie-the-Pooh stories, is in actuality, Five Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest, in East Sussex, England, where the Winnie-the-Pooh stories were set. Visiting Pooh Country was a tremendous boost to her heart and soul and came to her at a time when she had just been told she had an incurable illness. That trip gave her hope and courage to persevere. She wanted to see the home place of Winnie-the-Pooh because she took great comfort from the book, The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. This excellent book was recommended to her by a very special teacher and Meaghan would often pay it forward when she recommended this book to anyone facing adversity.

Meaghan was very active in promoting the goals of the Vasculitis Foundation, which are Awareness, Research, and Education. In her own words:

“I dream that we’ll reach a point where complete remission is a guarantee. That newly diagnosed patients won’t have to be scared but will know that their bodies can’t stop them from living full lives and achieving their goals. The VF’s research efforts and the community of support they provide have helped me to have hope for my future. I dream of a day when everyone can feel the same.”

Meaghan lived the epitome of her dream. She attended conferences and counseled numerous other vasculitis patients to offer them help and support, especially during that time when they were newly diagnosed. One VF friend told me, “She was so authentic, and so bold, and so herself. She made my life worth living when I was 26 and she was only 15.” Meaghan’s intelligence and positive attitude were why she was often asked to speak to international researchers about the patient perspective. She continued to actively promote awareness about vasculitis and helped other people until the day she died. She would be honored if others also chose to support efforts to develop improved treatments and perhaps one day find a cure.

It would be wonderful if you will share your stories about Meaghan, as well as any photos you may have. Bring your memories to her Celebration of Life and share them. You may also post comments on the Tribute Wall on the funeral home website. You may of course send your stories and condolences to her father at any time. I would love to hear how my daughter touched your life. The address for her father is: Joseph Carpenter PO Box 30888 Albuquerque, NM 87190.